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Really Scary Archives
12.28.02
Dead & Rotting Director Writes In Regarding Review
We don't have a proper letters page, although maybe we should. We get a good bit of mail from all of you and have thought about adding one but figured we'd ask you -- should we have a letters page? Would you be interested in the stuff that rolls in here? Just drop us a line here and let us know.
On to the reason for this in the first place. We wanted to share a letter we received from the director of Dead & Rotting, which Ray Garton recently covered in the Bloodshot Eye Review column.
Roy--
Hi, David Barton writing, I'm the director of "Dead & Rotting". I just read your review of my film and just wanted to
follow-up. I can appreciate your personal thoughts of the film and you're certainly entitled to them. Your review is one
of the worst DEAD & ROTTING received-- Most have been decent. I kinda feel that I got the extra one-two punch
because the film had the fate of being on the Full Moon label and that your review was really just a negative critic about
Full Moon's movies in general and Charles Bands statements from years ago that are not even relevant at present date.
For what it's worth, I wanted to qualify my film with hopes that I can distinguish it from the rest of their product if even
just a little. It was certainly my goal to try and make a film above the quality that so many Full Moon have become.
DEAD & ROTTING cost a mere $40,000 and was shot in 8 days. It was much more a labor of love than many of
the other Full Moon titles which had budgets of $600,000+ to a million dollars to work with and a month or more to
shoot them. At one point Paramount Pictures was even picking up the tab and releasing the product. Even
STITCHES had a budget of $70,000. Sure, you may think that crap is crap but we put a lot of effort into the project,
strived to write the best script possible in the 10 days we had to write it after having been given the title "DEAD &
ROTTING" to work with. Having personally worked on films like Starship Troopers, A Beautiful Mind, The Usual
Suspects, Bicentennial Man, FACE /OFF, The Abyss... There is certainly a lot more I would have liked to have been
able to achieve with a first film project. But for $40,000 and 8 days to shoot I think we achieved a heck of a lot of
production value, particularly visually, and I doubt many others could do much more with similar restraints-- Even
Stuart Gordon. Mostly, I just wished your negative comments against Full Moon could have come out earlier against
some of Full Moon's other, more costly, assembly-line product than to make DEAD & ROTTING, one of Full
Moon's least expensive projects ever, carry all that negative weight.
In my opinion, I think it's too bad that films like DEAD & ROTTING have to be marketed next to "A" pictures and
even worse at the same rental price. It forces micro-budget independent films to compete on the level of 200 million
dollar projects which, obviously, is nearly impossible. There are examples contrary to this like BLAIR WITCH
PROJECT and Robert Rodriguez's first film (I can't remember the title) but both of those had a good chunk of cash
dropped into them prior to being released to the general public.
Thanks for letting me bend your ear.
All the best!
David Barton
More Movie Maniacs 6 Figure Details
Spawn.com reports a few more details about the Movie Maniacs 6 lineup.
- Dog Alien from Alien 3 will feature about 10 points of articulation (plus a bendy tail) and inner jaw play action similar to the Alien figure in the boxed edition of Movie Maniacs 5.
- Warrior Alien from Alien Resurrection will feature about 12 points of articulation plus a bendy tail.
- Predator the Hunter from Predator 2 will feature more than a dozen points of articulation. This figure is helmetless with an open-mouthed face and has a long weapon with telescoping action. Also has forearm-mounted blade action.
- Predator from Predator 2 will have about a dozen points of articulation and a close-mouthed face with removable helmet. It includes a disc weapon, a removable cut-off arm and forearm-mounted blade action.
- The deluxe boxed set for MM6 will be the Alien Queen from Aliens. This figure will have about 10 points of articulation and a bendy tail. The set includes a custom diorama base. The trapped human figure in the base has chest-burster play action.
Click here for new photos from the official site.
Veteran Genre Actor Kenneth Tobey Dies
The Los Angeles Times reports (via Fango) Kenneth Tobey, the veteran actor who made his mark in a pair of classic í50s sci-fi/horror films, died at the age of 85 last Sunday at a hospital in Rancho Mirage, CA after a long illness. Tobey starred in the films The Thing from Another World, The Best from 20,000 Fathoms and Ray Harryhausen's It Came from Beneath the Sea. His later credits include four Joe Dante films: The Howling, Gremlins, Gremlins 2 and Innerspace.
12.22.02
Man Who Fell to Earth Set for DVD
Anchor Bay Entertainment will release a DVD version of David Bowie's The Man Who Fell To Earth. Set for a Feb. 11 release, Anchor Bay reports Nicolas Roeg's acclaimed cult masterpiece will be presented complete and uncensored, now fully restored from original negative materials and featuring remastered DTS & Dolby EX audio.
David Bowie made his unforgettable feature film debut as a visitor from a dying planet who becomes a reclusive multi-millionaire, only to lose himself in an earthbound abyss of decadence, self-destruction and alienation. Candy Clark, Rip Torn and Buck Henry co-star in this enigmatic masterpiece.
It will include an eight-page Collector's Booklet. The DVD will have the following extras:
- The Man Who Fell To Earth - Feature Presentation (Disc One)
- Widescreen Presentation enhanced for 16x9 TVs
- THX Approved
- The Man Who Fell To Earth - Bonus Materials (Disc Two)
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
- Talent Bios
- Poster And Still Gallery
- Watching The Alien -- An All-New 24 minute featurette
- Original Screenplay in DVD-ROM
Slashers Gets a Slashing in Canada
Rue Morgue reports Slashers director Maurice Devereaux told them that his indie splatter film has been butchered by Canadian censors. The DVD hit Canadian video stores Dec. 17 and, according to Devereaux:
"Two minutes are cut out from the film (all the kills are heavily butchered and even some of the language), and the DVD is a non-widescreen version without the directorís commentary (all available in the US edition). But whatís even worse is that in the opening montage of previous Japanese episodes, they replaced all the shots of deaths of Asian contestants with SPOILER SHOTS FROM LATER IN THE MOVIE WITH THE AMERICAN CONTESTANTS (?!), Showing who will get killed (without the blood of course) and by who. AMAZING! Not only does it ruin many twists, but makes absolutely no sense at all since what we were supposed to see later [is supposed to] be live! I'm really sorry to the people who will rent or buy it, not knowing of the stupid meddling that has occurred."
Spielberg Talks a Bit of Indiana Jones
In addition to letting slip that Indy will have to face a terrifying roll call of his past lovers, Steven Spielberg has also disclosed that Indy will be up against a supernatural element in the upcoming fourth Indiana Jones instalment. He also indicated that the setting will also change.
"You have to understand that Harrison is going to be 62 years old when the film begins production in 2004, so we had to push the years into the 1950s," Spielberg pointed out while assuring us with the news that preproduction is on schedule and the July 2005 release still in view.
Spinal Tap Saved!
Not horror but newsworthy nonetheless. Empire reports the boys from Spinal Tap are being preserved for posterity. The U.S. Library of Congress has decided in all its wisdom to allow the loudest band of earth to be added to their National Film Registry. Along with 24 other flicks added to the registry for their cultural, historical or aesthetic contribution to American cinema, Rob Reiner's mockumentary is now safe for future generations to enjoy. As to the point as ever, Reiner commented, "This just further proves that there is a fine line between stupid and clever."
Club Mez Releases Cinema of Fear Silver Screen Edition
Club Mez has now done a Silver Screen edition of their Cinema of Fear three-pack Mez-Itz action figures. Featuring Leatherface, Jason and Freddy, this limited edition set features black, white and grey paint apps. Figures come with mini-diorama bases and accessories in a window box. Limited to 1,000 sets worldwide, only 600 available in the United States. Click here to take a look.
Showtime Finally Moving on Lord of Illusions?
Variety reports (via Fango) Showtime is moving closer to ordering a pilot for the long-in-development Clive Barker project, Clive Barker's Lord of Illusions, a television series based on Barker's last outing as a film director, Lord of Illusions and the short tale, The Last Illusion, featuring detective Harry D'Amour.
Reportedly the cost of the show could be a problem, however, and that's why they're not making a definitive announcement. Barker has long talked of his desire to bring Harry D'Amour to the small screen, so if it goes, look for him to be involved in some capacity.
Dial M Playwright Dies
Writer Frederick Knott, whose taut dramas Dial M for Murder and Wait Until Dark were among the most popular in the last half-century, has died at age 86, The Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday.
Knott died at home in New York City of unknown causes on Tuesday, the paper said.
Knott only wrote three plays yet his spine-tingling thrillers ran successfully on Broadway in the 1950s and 1960s, and have been standards in summer stock, regional theater and touring productions throughout the world.
His most famous script, Dial M for Murder, about a man who plots the murder of his wealthy wife but has to improvise once she staves off his plan, was rejected several times before playing successfully on British television in the early 1950s. It then hit the London stage to rave reviews. In 1952 the play opened on Broadway, and in 1954 was adapted by Knott into a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Grace Kelly and Ray Milland.
12.18.02
Special Offer from Ray Garton
Horror writing legend Ray Garton (Invaders from Mars, Live Girls) is offering something very special to you Really Scary readers and we didn't even have to threaten...er, um, ask him twice. Ray's in the holiday spirit and is offering personally inscribed copies of his most recent novel, Sex and Violence in Hollywood for $15 (plus $5 shipping and handling). This is half the cover price of $40! Anyone interested can e-mail Ray directly at RayG@doityourself.com.
This book kicks serious ass -- an awesome epic! It burns our butt how much crap comes out of Hollywood when incredibly vivid writing like this is just begging for a movie. Don't miss this great offer, Ray is one of the truly great ones and did we mention our close personal friend.
12.17.02
McSweeney's #10 Author Lineup
Stephen King News and Needful Things report the lineup for the highly anticipated McSweeney's #10. Michael Chabon (author of the Pulitzer prize winning Adventures of Kavalier and Clay) will edit and Vintage will publish it as a paperback. It will also be available in a downloadable audio version. Proceeds to benefit
826 Valencia's writing programs for kids (http://www.826valencia.org/).
List of authors and their titles in the pb:
- Jim Shepard's "Astounding Stories"
- Glen David Gold's "The Tears of Squonk, and What Happened Thereafter"
- Dan Chaon's "The Bees"
- Kelly Link's "Catskin"
- Elmore Leonard's "How Carlos Webster Changed His Name to Carl and
Became a Famous Oklahoma Lawman"
- Carol Emshwiller's "The General"
- Neil Gaiman's "Closing Time"
- Nick Hornby's "Otherwise Pandemonium"
- Stephen King's "The Tale of Gray Dick"
- Michael Crichton's "Blood Doesn't Come Out"
- Laurie King's "Weaving the Dark"
- Chris Offutt's "Chuck's Bucket"
- Dave Eggers's "Up the Mountain Coming Down Slowly"
- Michael Moorcock's "The Case of the Nazi Canary"
- Aimee Bender's "The Case of the Salt and Pepper Shakers"
- Harlan Ellison's "Goodbye to All That"
- Karen Joy Fowler's "Private Grave 9"
- Rick Moody's "The Albertine Notes"
- Michael Chabon's "The Martian Agent, a Planetary Romance"
Been a while since we've seen an all-star lineup like this in a magazine -- McSweeney's is called a magazine by most but it's more like a book and worth every penny).
Here's the list of author's and stories in audio version:
- Jim Shepard's "Astounding Stories"
- Glen David Gold's "The Tears of Squonk, and What Happened Thereafter"
- Dan Chaon's "The Bees"
- Kelly Link's "Catskin"
- Elmore Leonard's "How Carlos Webster Changed His Name to Carl and
Became a Famous Oklahoma Lawman"
- Carol Emshwiller's "The General"
- Neil Gaiman's "Closing Time"
- Nick Hornby's "Otherwise Pandemonium"
- Stephen King's "The Tale of Gray" (Reportedly a ghost story)
Release date: March 2003
12.12.02
Fear Film Shooting Woods Are Alive
Fear Film and Sub Rosa Studios latest horror movie venture is The Woods Are Alive. Starring B-Horror Scream Queen Debbie Rochon (American Nightmare, Bleed) and Jeff Dylan Graham (Dead
and Rotting, Stingers), the movie is described as a story revolves around a female pop star singer who's manager kills a crazed fan after an attempted rape on the self centered star. Wanting to get away from it all, she tries to find solitude by traveling cross country and
camping with her dysfunctional family.
The screenplay is written by Tim Ritter (Truth or Dare, Creep) based on a story by Ron Bonk and will be directed by Robert J. Massetti (Phobias, Realms of Blood). The movie is scheduled to start production in the spring of 2003 and will be shot in South Florida.
12.11.02
Exofest Horror Film Festival Details
If you're out and about in Calgary Jan. 24 to Feb. 3, then definitely check out Exofest II: The Calgary International Horror Film Festival. And for all you filmmakers, they're still accepting entries but you'll need to get it out quick -- deadline is Dec. 15.
One highlight is the world premiere of House of the Dead with the director in attendance and a gala party afterwards on Feb. 3. Also showing will be Dante Tomaselli's Horror, Battle Royale, Ichi the Killer and a slew more. Click here for the official site and check out all the details.
Elite Releasing Tomaselli's Horror
Dante Tomaselli's movie Horror, recipient of the New York City Horror Film Festival Award for Best Cinematography, will be available on DVD from Elite Entertainment in the first quarter of 2003.
"Dante Tomaselli has quickly become a master of the horror film genre, and has already established a strong core of cult fans," said Vini Bancalari, President, Elite Entertainment. "We're excited to be working with Dante, and to have the opportunity to release one of the more recent horror films to already be considered a classic."
The DVD will feature a variety of extras, including an audio commentary by Tomaselli; behind-the-scenes footage; still gallery; and an anamorphic widescreen transfer.
"I have a strong admiration for Elite's background in horror movies, as Vini is a true horror fan with a deep passion," said Tomaselli. "I was blown away with Elite's superior picture and sound presentation on two of my all-time favorite films, Night of the Living Dead and The Evil Dead, and I'm looking forward to the same integrity of quality put into Horror."
Horror merges two disturbing storylines. At the onset, a group of teens escapes from a drug rehab center, heading toward a supposed promise of salvation at the house of a psychopathic reverend. Once there, a bizarre and disturbing series of events unfold as the teens discover that the reverend and his wife have enslaved their daughter, through enforced drug addiction and psychic brainwashing.
12.10.02
Gibson Says Yes to Next Mad Max
Mel Gibson will earn almost $25 million to return to the Mad Max franchise for a fourth time, Hollywood trade paper Daily Variety said in its Tuesday edition.
The $104 million project, called Fury Road, will start shooting in Australia next May. The project is set up at Twentieth Century Fox.
George Miller, who directed and co-wrote the first three films, will direct Fury Road from a script he has been crafting for the past three years, the paper said. It did not reveal plot details other than to note that "Mad" Max Rockatansky will once again roam the lawless, post-apocalyptic Australian outback.
12.08.02
McFarlane Confirms Movie Figure Line Rumors
The official Todd McFarlane site, Spawn.com has confirmed what was already out and about. The Movie Maniacs Series 6 will consist entirely of characters from the Alien and Predator films. Set for an April 2003 release, the official lineup is as follows:
- DOG ALIEN from Alien 3 with play action.
- WARRIOR ALIEN from Alien Resurrection.
- PREDATOR THE HUNTER from Predator 2 with play action
- PREDATOR from Predator 2 with play action.
The deluxe boxed set for MM6 will be the ALIEN QUEEN from Aliens. This box includes a full custom base and other extras. Note, the two Predator figures are not versions of the same figure; they feature different sculpts and accessories.
You'll note the timing of the release is different than in past years. They previously released the Movie Maniacs series in September. This time around they say they're experimenting in 2003 with an earlier release that hopefully will be beneficial to fans of the line as well as to the company.
1000 Corpses Site Live!
The House of 1000 Corpses web site now has stuff on it! Click here for the trailer, photos, synopsis, wallpapers and more.
Buffy Casting News
DH reports Iyari Limon, Courtnee Draper and Clara Bryant are tipped to play the Slayers-in-training who'll appear in episode #10 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Two Genre Related Deaths
Fangoria relays information regarding two genre related deaths. Variety reports veteran exploitation distributor Jerry Gross was found deceased Nov. 20, some time after his death. He was 62 years old. As head of Cinemation, Gross released the horror titles I Drink Your Blood/I Eat Your Skin double feature and later formed The Jerry Gross Organizatiomn, unleashing the early 1980s Lucio Fulciís Zombie, Ulli Lommelís The Boogey Man and Blood Beach.
In addition, Cinescape, citing a bulletin on NBC4, reports that actor Glenn Quinn was found dead Dec. 3 of a possible drug overdose at the age of 32. Quinn is best known to genre fans as the ill-fated Doyle from the first season of the WB series Angel, and also starred in the 1992 slasher film Dr. Giggles.
Federal Judge Throws Out Exorcist Suit
AP reports a federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by the writer and the director of The Exorcist against Warner Bros. that claimed they, and not the company, own the copyright to a reworked version of the 1973 horror classic.
U.S. District Court Judge Lourdes G. Baird ruled against writer William Blatty and director William Friedkin, who said they had "contributed original works of authorship to the new version of 'The Exorcist' to create a derivative work."
In their lawsuit, they claimed Warner Bros. had no right to distribute the 2000 reissue of the film. However, Baird's ruling Wednesday said the plaintiffs' "interpretation of the Copyright Act turned the statute on its head," and was "unsupported by law."
"We think the judgment (was) appropriate," said John Schulman, general counsel for Warner Bros., who declined to comment further. Plaintiffs' attorney Lawrence Iser did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Blatty and Friedkin have a separate lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court accusing Warner Bros., Turner Network Television and Turner Broadcasting System of hiding revenue to avoid paying them a full share of the profits.
In the Superior Court lawsuit, Blatty and Friedkin allege they received no compensation for their revisions of the film, despite contracts signed in 1971 that gave Blatty 28-39 percent of net profits, and Friedkin net profits of 10 percent.
12.03.02
Composer Chosen for T3 & Hellboy
According to MusicfromtheMovies (via Fango), Marco Beltrami (Scream) will compose the score to Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Although Brad Fiedel's original Terminator score is very recognizable, Beltrami says that he will use "all my own material," so don't look for the kind of blend Don Davis did with John Williams' music on Jurassic Park 3.
The popular genre composer has also signed up to score Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy feature.
UA Signs Horror Movie Deal
Reuters reports United Artists has signed a deal with Furst Films to produce David Rosss horror spec The Woods, with helmer Lucky McKee, director of another upcoming horror flick May, attached to direct.
Psychological horror story begins when a young girl's parents drop their
neglected daughter off at a remote boarding school in the forest. When the girl's classmates begin disappearing from the school, she tries to discover the root of the problem and finds it's related to a mysterious dwelling in the woods.
12.02.02
Word About Movie Maniac Lines 6 & 7
Sources close to Figures.com/McFarlaneGuide.com have confirmed that the next installment in McFarlane Toys Movie Maniacs toyline (Series 6) will be exclusively Alien and Predator characters. The line will most likely be made up of: Queen Alien (Deluxe), Dog Alien (Alien 3), as well as Predator 2 (two versions).
Their sources indicate that this themed "montage" of film creatures will allow McFarlane a year break from trying to fill out an assortment -- that and totally maximize their Alien/Predator license for the buying figure fan.
Rumored 2004 Movie Maniacs include possible characters from upcoming films like "Freddy vs. Jason", "Jeepers Creepers"... maybe even "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"; the latter which has been re-envisioned for a new feature film directed by Marcus Nispel.
More Hellraiser Action Figure Details
Figures.com has a few more details regarding NECA and their master license to produce collectibles based on the Hellraiser movie series. Each solo-packed, 7" scale figure series will revolve around a particular "Cenobite look." They will not be released in movie order. For example, confirmed Series 1 figs will include "Chatterer" (Hellraiser 1), "CD-Head" (Hellraiser 3), and "Pinhead."
In addition, a non-Cenobite creature ("chatterer demon dog" from "Bloodline" being a strong possibility) will join the group. Another themed series planned includes an all female cast. Good candidates here include "Angelique" (Hellraiser 4) and sexy screams from 1, 3 and 5.
Charisma Carpenter Pregnant
People magazine reports (via BuffyGuide) Charisma Carpenter is pregnant. She and husband Damian Hardy are expecting a boy in March. Reports indicate that the Angel storyline will be "adapted to accomodate" the pregnancy.
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